


Princess

by serenbach



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Character Study, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-08
Updated: 2013-01-08
Packaged: 2017-11-24 04:23:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/630364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenbach/pseuds/serenbach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basch reflects on the changes in Ashe in the two years since they have seen each other</p>
            </blockquote>





	Princess

She is not the Ashelia he remembers and this hurts him, somehow. It is a far sharper reminder of his failure than the stinging whips in prison, or even her own hand hard against his face.

She is not the young, hopeful princess he remembered so well. She is no longer the girl who smiled at him so readily in the hallways of her home, whose laughter had filled the palace of Dalmasca, whose marriage had brought hope to a despairing country, whose courage had inspired such fervent devotion from all the Knights of the Order- _from him_. She is not the princess whose memory sustained him throughout two long, miserable years of captivity.

There is too much of Amalia in her now. Amalia is not a privileged, pampered princess. She has had to fight for everything she has, and she is not afraid to strike first to protect herself or those in her care. There is a toughness in her that he doesn’t remember from before, a street-learned wariness that rivals even Vaan’s. He feels his failure anew when he realises that she had to develop her own armour to protect herself.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, he realises. She is as strong and as true as the length of steel she wears at her hip and as fierce as the magic that blooms at her fingertips. She is a glorious warrior-princess who is not afraid to take up arms to retake her country, alone if necessary. She has learned that from Amalia.

But Amalia does not remember how to forgive, whether it is the empire that stole everything from her, or the knight suspected of treachery. He does not expect her forgiveness. He worries only that she has hardened herself so much that she has become brittle, liable to snap under any pressure.

But as he watches, hiding the concern he knows she will not appreciate, he sees how she is softened by Penelo’s guileless friendship, and Fran’s stoic respect. She learns to laugh again at Balthier’s blatant flirting and Vaan’s open admiration. She learns, slowly, to trust him again.

The companionship strengthens her. He realises that she has been lonely too, but she no longer has to fight her battles alone. Her burden is shared. She becomes a little more like the girl he remembers and though she doesn’t quite smile as readily as she once did, when she does, they seem so much brighter.

It’s only sometime later, as they walk together in the Ozmone Plains, that he understands that she is not Amalia, either. She is the Lady Ashe now, a combination of the girl she once was, the woman she was forced to become, and the queen she will be.

And Basch finds he has hope again.


End file.
